Sunday, 25 September 2016

In 1977 Hugh Cornwell found some Posh Totty to put on the casting couch, and the resulting birth was a single on which said Posh bird was backed up by the Stranglers in a clandestine attempt to make a New Wave cash in 'Hit'. Of course it failed, but this didn't stop JJ resurrecting the idea with a second.....yes, i said second, single!?This one was a lot better, mainly because it had the Pub Rock dream team of JJ Burnel and Wilko Johnson backing up the aforementioned Posh Totty. They even wrote a new tune for her, "you Better Believe Me"......its true!All four tracks have the magnificent JJ Burnel Bass sound, but once we lose the plodding Jet Black Drumming, and Cornwells anemic guitar. Bring in Wilko's choppy Tele, ably backed up by one time Rockpile stickman Terry Williams ; we get something verging on the very good.The identity of Celia Gollin herself has always been mysterious. She did some vocals on a Gavin Bryars Album on Eno's Obscure label in 1975, but after that nothing. Could she have been the 'Duchess' that Cornwell wrote about on the stranglers hit? Sometimes she even sounds a bit like Hazel O'Conner(also a Cornwell girlfriend) on these tracks.....maybe, the cover photo was just a model, and Hazel did the singing.....my mony mony's on that.Boring gossip aside........Wilko and JJ would probably appear in my Fantasy Pub Rock sooper groop.Maybe add Ian Dury on Vocals and Lyrics, Pete Thomas (of the Attractions) on proper Drums, and Lew Lewis on Harp. I did toy with having Philthy Phil 'The Animal' Taylor on drums, but went for the musicianly angle rather than looking good.........and that's my Pub Rock Sooper Groop.Please feel free to volunteer your own Fantasy Sooper Groop of any genre in the comments section below for some nerdy amusement."Mony Mony" single:Mony Mony 2:44Mean To Me 1:59

Cival Disobedience is good:

“Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders…and millions have been killed because of this obedience…Our problem is that people are obedient allover the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves… (and) the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.”